So I decided in a last minute action to partake in the Buffalo Springs Half Ironman last weekend. This race is rated as very tough with temperature of 97F (37C) and persistent winds (15-20kts) that drain you.So on Saturday morning I got up on 3.30am jumped on an airplane to arrive in Lubbock Texas 9hrs later. With the usual ‘bike missing in action’ it took till about 7pm that night to be complete. Carb loading, race registration, bike assembly and a couple of hours of sleep later I woke up at 4.22am the next morning ready to race (2.22am for me).
It was dark and the race was out in the middle of Texas nowhere! They had a ‘batman light’ swirling through the sky, so I knew it had to be somewhere out there. It was pretty exciting… driving up in complete darkness –looking in the mirror and seeing this long line of cars behind you – and going towards this light – and once you got close you look into this valley ‘pit’ with this beehive of athlete’s. So yes I was mentally psyched to race to say the least!
SWIM – On this swim I wanted to start up front, I had practiced to swim at a faster pace and I wanted to go for it. With a enthusiastic land start I dolphined my way through the water. On my second dive my goggles get kicked off! No worries ... unfortunately I ended-up in a pack of athletes. Trouble!!!!. Kicked from the front, elbowed from the sides, pulled from behind… rolled over, pushed under, taking in gulps of water on breaths. I was stuck and had anxiety attacks. I seriously considered to quit several times.
My motivation was the thought of Maureen enduring all this stress and I am calling it quits! Let’s finish the swim and re-asses my situation at the end, but first I had to get out of this group. I choose to exit through the back of the group through a slower breast stroke while allowing people to swim past (over) you. I then got into my rhythm and a couple of minutes later passed this group giving them a wide birth!. I exited the swim with a 34min time which was bad but not horrible. I did overheat on the swim in my wet-suite and next time I should either skip the suit or wear something else.
T1 – Transition one was reasonable smooth I had learned from Kona not to dwell and was quickly on my way. Had all the essentials and started immediately on a steep climb.
BIKE – I had surveyed the course through satellite pictures and thought it was ideal for me. With a good time at the hillier Kona I was ready to let it fly on this flat course with occasional hills. WRONG. Immediately after that first climb my legs were tired, I recognized the feeling to be fatigue from accumulated lactate that was not flushed in my taper week. With the persistent winds beating down I got a pretty good lesson. A lesson of being beaten around by lesser riders knowing that you are going to miss the targets set for yourself,
Man I had people passing me left and right 2 to 1, and it was not cool! Again I assessed my option to quit but instead of time as a target I choose my weak mind. And here is where I learned valuable lessons, let me explain. It is easy if you are fast and passing people to fight as you are gaining. Now try to do the same with the same amount of (will) power in a loosing situation! What I did to overcome was split the race in ever so tiny parts like “let’s do high cadence till the next turn”, “don’t loose sight of those folks ahead of you”, etc.
In the meantime due to the persistent winds the only way to keep any speed was to be aero position and doing that for such a long time (14hrs after a 5-6hr flight) my back was killing me!!!. In addition my legs were cramping up repeatedly so I was taking in salt and eGels as if my life depended on it.
In the final part of the race I came back slightly and started to make up my mind that the run would be the battle ground between me and me. Seriously I was ready to run the shit out of myself and see if I could break my body. So with a 2:42 on my bike I ended up somewhere in the middle of the pack disappointed and ready to take it out onto myself.
T2: Fast and flawless, took the absolute minimum I had to take
RUN – The first half mile after a tough bike is known as the reality check! Known to be the time where you pray to gods you don’t believe in, you will even make up some new ones asking them to please help you as blood is re-routed from your cycling muscles to your biking muscles.
This time was different though, I started this run aggressive, skipped the early aid stations, and on mile 2 and 3 averaged 7:15 min/mile, On the oncoming steep hills I maintained a pace of 8:00 mm where countless athletes choose to walk it. Haha what a perfect way to kill myself… let’s go run up three 12-14% graded hills in a half marathon while the sun is beating you up in 97F (37C).
In the ensuing 3 miles I chased a person ahead of me trying to do everything just a little faster. With a 7:16 and 7:18 on mile 11 and 12 I was within 10yards of my target. He started to realize my presence and was speeding up. No way – this is it – as I had written in my pre-race notes this is what I came for – not to race for time – not to race for a spot – I came here to train my mind to take a beating.
My breathing at this point was pretty much uncontrolled my heart rate was still ok it was just my legs that were killing me.
What can I tell you about that last mile other than that it was an intimate moment with myself, best described as a look into the mirror, I started off to run for Maureen, for Luke, for Nikki, for my mother,for my father, for coach Pete, for my club, until I finally realized that none of it helps or really matters.
I was here running for myself, no one ‘really’ cares about how I did in this final mile!?. Maureen loves me either way, she probably loves me even more if I am home being a good dad and husband, and my family they don’t even know what I am doing or where I am, and coach and team they will be proud as long as I do my best.
So it came all down to the basics of my egoistical self and wanting to make myself proud and beat that guy, there is no glory here.
So yes I passed this guy with force and yes I heard him latching on and trying to come back… yes I fought him off and went into a sprint by increasing my cadence and yes I emptied the tank on the final mile that never seemed to end. I crossed the finish line in 1hr37m with an average of 7:26 mm.
In the end this 1:37 time is not a PR (1:32), it isn’t even close my best run. So what was it in this race that I learned – Racing (triathlons) is pure and it is about yourself, it is about being yourself and believing who you are.
This race is once again dedicated to my wife Maureen who patiently stands beside me as I am beating myself up in a simple search of myself and who I want to be when I grow up.
THE LESSONS FOR VINEMAN
Swim – overcome my tendency to veer left, assess the use of a wet-suite in light over overheat and arm exhaustion, practice swimming in a pack– don’t be afraid to swim fast (4 weeks of weighting training to focus on this!)
Bike – Increase my overall taper from 5 to 10 days to reduce accumulated fatigue – ride the course at least once again specially the first/last 10miles. Maintain the fuel strategy on the bike.
Run – Socks really help! – Don’t be afraid to skip an aid station – Run my own run and build it towards a negative split – start speeding up earlier.
